2/24/12

Mexican wrestler, and another of my personal heroes, La Parka, is largely remembered in the U.S. for his respectable run in WCW during the late 90's. He was instantly this beacon of cool in the otherwise corny, by-the-numbers formula that pro-wrestling generally stuck to. Brought in as a novelty to kill time in between the steroid monsters of the 80's, he used what he had learned from performing in front of thousands of diverse Mexicans crowds to get himself over with the American audience, proving you just can't hide charisma, even with a full body skeleton leotard.

Returning to Mexico with a suitcase full of cash and a shit load of TV exposure, he quickly retook his place as one of lucha's top stars where he remains today under the name L.A. Park (don't ask).

This piece was for a Day of the Dead show last year and is a mashup of vintage Dr. Doom art and Mexico's favorite dancing skeleton.

2/17/12

Dedicated to the folks that don't fit in and don't give a fuck. It always seemed like the harder you try to be a normal dude, the more obvious it is that you are some sort of weirdo, so just throw on a lucha mask and look the world right in the God damned eyes.

I had cut up a few different houndstooth stencils last year and painted a bunch of stuff up with them as fun little experiments that culimated in wanting to cover a skatedeck in the pattern. The manual process of spraying each line resulted in a lot of cool inperfections in the otherwise crisp pattern, but when I was done, it was definitely missing...something.

Rule #1: When in doubt, add a lucha mask

Still high from Plug the Right One In, I opted for the same color scheme and didn't realize until I was days deep into it that I probably should have painted the other side (total Poseur Pete move). The luchador is one of my personal heroes, Dr. Wagner Jr, who took his dad's legacy as an evil wrestling doctor and grinded his way into becoming a national icon in Mexico. He enters the ring to classic Bon Jovi, has graced the cover of an Xbox game, and of course, has a big following in Japan.